The summer school of sports management, which was held for the third time in a row in partnership by the Volga State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism and the University of Jena (Germany) with the financial support of the German educational exchange program DAAD, has come to an end. This time, due to the restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic, the school was held online.
The permanent lecturers of the school are leading German specialists in the field of sports economics, sports management and marketing, Head of the Department of Sports Economics at the F. Schiller University Frank Daumann, Professor of the Department of Sports Management and Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Heidelberg Markus Breuer and Professor of the University of Potsdam, Director of the Institute of Sports Science Christoph Rasche. This summer, they were joined by Norbert Schutte from the Mainz University. Johann Guttenberg, Professor Benedict Remmelt from the Heidelberg Higher School and Gerald Fritz, director of the German Olympic Academy.
The involvement of new lecturers in the school allowed us to expand the range of topics discussed. Among them are the digitalization of sports, an economic analysis of manipulation in sports and an analysis of gender pay inequality in the field of sports.
Despite the fact that the summer school-2021 was held in the online format, its organizers did not change the principles of combining theoretical and practical classes, during which students actively interact in the process of solving cases and working on projects. The school's program also includes life-excursions to sports facilities in the cities of Germany and Kazan.
Acting Vice-Rector for Research and International Cooperation of the Volga Region University Andrey Nazarenko believes that partnership relations meet the highest expectations:
- For my part, I want to note that the students of the school were very lucky: the material presented by German lecturers of the highest level! But the most important thing is that all this material is practice-oriented. Therefore, I am sure that summer school is not just knowledge that can be postponed for the future. This will give an impetus to the further development of students and undergraduates, to move in the chosen direction. Such schools are necessary because students receive knowledge borrowed from world practice. Plus, students here learn to work in groups, solve problems together, discussing and formulating answers to the most difficult questions, successful startup ideas are born in such communities.
As an employee of the university, I am pleased that we were able to organize the process at a high level. I would like to note that the students from other cities and countries were impressed by what they saw during the life-tours of the objects, by the conditions in which our students study and are engaged in science. We hope that we will still be able to host the summer school of management, but already in offline mode.
The project manager, Professor Frank Dauman, summing up the results of the summer school-2021, noted:
- Despite the fact that, unfortunately, we were deprived of the joy of live communication, I think we made the most of the opportunities that the online format provided us. Personally, it was a great pleasure for me to read lectures, and it seemed to me that the students also liked everything. Of course, if we had all gathered in Kazan this summer, our discussions would have been more intense. But even in these conditions, the participants showed great interest, which was especially noticeable during the presentations. Several games we held also helped the participants to get to know each other better. As the school has shown, online tools are quite effective and convenient. They even allowed us to organize and conduct a rich excursion program. I was impressed by how much you can do on the Internet. You can get a fairly complete picture of the city, objects, even if you are not present there. Traditionally effective cooperation with the Volga Region University has certainly helped us to achieve such results. I am grateful to our Kazan partners for their professionalism and high level of organization. Unfortunately, I could not enjoy the generous hospitality of our friends in Kazan, which I am very sorry about.
The students of the school, as it is known, were six students of the Volga Region University. Elizaveta Andriukova believes that warm memories of this summer will remain with her for a long time:
- I really liked the school! It was also interesting at lectures, and especially at practical classes, where we had to solve problems together with students from different cities and countries. Communicating with them, getting acquainted with their views and vision expands your inner boundaries. For me, this school is especially relevant, because I entered the master's program in the direction of management. I approach the beginning of my studies having laid a certain foundation. The lectures were very voluminous. There was so much information that sometimes it was very difficult. But despite this, I got great pleasure, including from online excursions to various sites in Kazan and Germany. I will note, by the way, that the guys from other cities were delighted with our University. Someone was even going to apply for a master's degree.
Among the students of the school were students of European universities. Anna Semenova, for example, is currently studying in Belgium:
- I am from St. Petersburg, but now I am studying for a master's degree at the Catholic University of Leuven, studying sports ethics. I really liked the last summer school. The only pity is that it was held in an online format, and we were not able to communicate more closely and fully feel the atmosphere of cooperation. But first of all, I was impressed by the highest level of teachers. In my bachelor's degree, I studied in the direction of sports management and marketing, so I was familiar with the topic of the school. But the knowledge that I received here has significantly changed my ideas. I especially liked that the teachers tried to integrate the cases into the educational process. This allowed us to communicate more and find out what practices exist in the sports industry abroad. It's great that in the current circumstances, the organizers found an opportunity to hold the school online. This allowed students from other countries to take part in it. And, by the way, everything was organized at the highest level!
Almost all the students of the summer school-2021 expressed regret that circumstances did not allow them to spend this time together in Kazan. But it is quite possible that the participants of the next school will be more lucky. After all, according to Gulnaz Ageeva, executive director of the project in Russia, Associate Professor of the Department of Economics and Management in Sports at the Volga Region University, Professor Frank Daumann invited the Volga Region University to participate in the competition for holding summer sports management schools in the next 3-year cycle.
- The German side really liked the way the last three schools were organized and held in Kazan, - says Gulnaz Faritovna. - They are especially impressed by the fact that during their studies, students have the opportunity to visit sports facilities designed for major events. This "presence effect" inspires listeners to take a creative approach to solving the tasks set. We will definitely apply for the next cycle of schools, as cooperation with such European educational structures as DAAD is valuable for our university. We consider it important that the Volga Region University becomes a platform where such projects are implemented.
